The Portland daily press., 1887-05-18
ENGLISH DEMOCRACY.
4 Stratum Of Society Of which Amer
leans Know Little.

4 Stratum Of Society Of which Amer
leans Know Little.
The leading London dailes, with whose
names Americans are made familiar by the
cable dispatches, represent not the masses
of the people but the class which is des
ignated as society" 1t is with this same
class also that the cable letters which form
feature of the Sunday editions Of the large
New York dailies have principally to deal.
Court receptions, balls, fashion events and
the latest scandals make up the bulk of their
topics.
There is in England an influential field Of
journalism rarely heard of in this country.
and which contains some Of the most widely
circulated papers in the country. Its tone is
far different from that Of the higher-priced
newspapers, and one may look in vain for
any trace of that enthusiastic loyalty which
is reflected in Tennyson's odes. On the con-
trary, some of the most popular journals in
England are strongly Democratic. and fire.
quently refer to the Queen and the rest of
the royal family in terms not simply Of in
difference, but Of absolute derision and con-
tempt These papers are rarely seen outside
of England. They are usually published on
Sunday morning and circulated among the
working people, but they are none the less
influential on that account The leading pc
riodical of the class is Reynolds Newspaper,
which adopts for its motto, printed in large
type on its front page, Lincolns phrase
tt(rnvQruunpnf nf fba hxr fha In
for the people," 1t is penny paper of eight
pages, seven wide columns to the page, and
literally stuffed with news and Information,
and its circulation is enormous, far exceed
ing that of the London Times Although its
space Is ample its contents are so extensive
and varied that its matter is mostly in solid
nonpareil type. The first page begins with
a leading article in large type, which is re-
view OF some current political topic, written
from strongly Democratic standpoint, ex-
ceedingly free and sharp in its criticisms up
on the government. Then follows compfl-
alton of foreign intelligence from all over the
world, matters OF special interest to working
people being given the greatest length. Re-
ports OF Parliament, sporting news and re-
ports of the police courts take up most Of the
remaining space. A special feature is made
OF notes on Parliament, in which the right
honorable members are handled in a very
free and irreverent way, and great quantity
OF Information is given Of all subjects of cur
rent interest.
The editorial articles go straight to the
point and call spade spade. in the most
unTestrained way. A peculiar feature is
doHble-leaded articles signed by such old
familiar names as Demos, Gracious and the
like which hit sledge-hammer blows at the
aristocracy and aristocratie institutions.
The style of these articles will be better in
dicated by some extracts.
just at present the Queens jubilee is the
leading topic in London society, and all sorts
OF funds are being gotten up to commence
rate the event in various ways. There is no
lack Of jubilee odes in Reynolds journal, but
they differ greatly in tone from Lord Tenny-
sons, while many are better from a poetic
point Of view. For instance, id one ode the
Queen is represented as soliloquiZing on the
jubilee, and these lines are put in her
mouth:
My throne is built upon the rags and prvation,
And the sad, glaring want which the masses
have felt.
worship my gold, yet it's my destination
To go TO that place where it all soon will melt.
Oh, Jubeel-oh, sad Jubileei
The last straw will break up the game you
will see.
The ode ends with this stirring appeal to
the people:
L.
Proclaim to the masses their right to the soil.
The time it doth hasten when fraud oyertaken.
Must give back those rights Of the true sons OF
toll.
Oh, Jublleel--for such Jubileei
'Tis this that they aim for, and Right is their
plea.
Nothing is more exasperatng to the Eng
lish people than the way in which fat offices
at court and in the public service are given To
German relatives Of the Queen. This ten
dency is hit off in the following stanza OF
another democratic jubilee ode:
I've "Battenbergs" and Langenbergs."
"Geichensrs." and "Lenngens' gorge,
"Saxe Weimars," too, the "StretzS crew,
"And our hero, Cousin George.
In long article Demos views the events of
the Queens reign, pointing out that during
this reign which court poets designate as
peaceful there have been twelve wars
costing $720 900, and adding the cost of
army expenditures in the same time the total
cost Of this reign of'peaee" has been S13.-
1850 ,000.s The condition of 1.-THE people
during that fifty years is also described. and
it is declared that at this moment there is a
larger amount of misery in the kingdom than
ever before. Ireland, Wales and the High
lands Of Scotland are in state of semi-reyolt
and the bitter cry of the poor is heard in all
Of the larger towns and in the agricultural
districts. Armies of unemployed persons
parade the streets, and the round Of life for
the working classes Is monotonous, hopeless,
despairing. Meanwhile the Queen is paid
$2,S00.000 every year by the nation, and fif-
teen other royal personages receive over one
million and half more from the public
treasury. The total amount paid for the sup
port Of royalty during the Queens reign, ex-
elusive OF various fees and gifts of residences
has been Sill, 100000. The way in which
the poor have to live is contrasted with the
extravaganza of the Queens household For
instance there Is a President Of the Board Of
Green Cloth who is paid $4,000 year and
his important duty is to break his white
wand of Office over the corpse when mem
Der of the royal family dies. There are
Gentleman Ushers, and Hereditary Grand
Falconer, Coroner Of the Verget, the Mas
ter of the Buck Hounds, the Keeper of the
Swans and all sorts of other offices in the
royal household, the duties of which are
either nominal or are discharged by servants
and Tor these offices and the expenses OF the
household the British taxpayers pay every
year Sl,5l5.O00. The Crown Jewels, the
keeping of which requires number Of high
saiarled officers, amount in value to between
Sl5,OOO,OOO and $40, 900, 900, and the suggestion
Is made TO the Queen that If she really wants
TO make her jubilee memorable she should
sell THESE Jewels and devote the proceeds to
some useful object for the benefit Of the
people.
1t will be seen that there is no hesitation
In speaking frankly to the Queen. In
another article she Is referred to as the "old
lady now being driven about in donkee
chaise in France" where she happens to be
at present on pleasure visit. The royal
princes are not favorites with the repub-
lican papers. The Prince of Wales jubilee
scheme Of an Imperial Institute for which he
IS endeavoring to collect Sl,OOO,OOO is de-
scribed as "a scandalous, shameful scheme
OF beggary" The question is asked what
purpose the monster building would be ap
Piled to if erected, and it is said that there
are rumors that the Prince Of Wales intends
les and jobbers, such as he loves to have
about him." The Duke of Edinburgh,
second son Of the Queen, is described as a
luDDer and recent blunder in seamanship
made by him Is nlninlu nsnrihed To drnn ken